Altaf Hussain Age, Caste, Wife, Family, Biography & More

Bio/Wiki
Nickname	Pakistan's Powerful but Absent Politician [1]BBC
Profession(s)	Politician, Pharmacist
Known For	Requesting asylum in India
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)	in centimeters- 168 cm in meters- 1.68 m in feet & inches- 5’ 6”
Eye Colour	Black
Hair Colour	Black
Politics
Political Party	Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM; previously known as the Mujahir Qaumi Movement)
Political Journey	• On 11 June 1978, he founded the Pakistan Muhajir Students Organisation (APMSO). • In 1980, during the college elections, his party won 92 seats. • Eventually, he formed the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and named the APMSO as the student wing of the MQM. • In 1988, his party won almost all the seats of the Pakistan General Elections.
Personal Life
Date of Birth	17 September 1953 (Thursday)
Age (as in 2019)	66 Years
Birthplace	Karachi, Pakistan
Zodiac sign	Virgo
Signature
Nationality	Pakistani and British (He holds dual citizenship of Pakistan and the United Kingdom) [2]BBC
Hometown	Karachi, Pakistan
School	• Government Comprehensive High School for Boys, Azizabad, Karachi • Government Boys Secondary School, Azizabad, Karachi
College/University	• Islamia Science College, Karachi, Pakistan • Government National College, Karachi, Pakistan
Educational Qualification(s)	• Bachelor of Science from the Islamia Science College in 1974 • Bachelor of Pharmacy from the Government National College in 1979
Religion	Islam
Caste	Arain [3]Siasat.pk
Hobbies	Cooking, Writing Poems
Controversies	• During the 1980s and 1990s, Altaf and his party were accused of using violent tactics to obtain political power. Pakistan suffered great loss, and Altaf was blamed for the violence. [4]Dawn • In 2013, the Pakistan Government blamed him for staging a mass riot in Karachi. He was also accused of being a terrorist and a fanatic. [5]The Guardian • On 22 August 2016, he raised slogans against Pakistan and also called it "cancer for the entire world." Following his speech, his party workers attacked and vandalised a media office in Karachi. [6]India Today • On 24 February 2019, while addressing millions of his followers live through social media, he said that the "Two-Nation Theory" was completely fraud and it was invented by the British to divide and create unrest in the Indian sub-continent. He also said that the Partition of 1947 was just a tactic by the British to stop a revolution against them and to fail the Indian freedom movement. [7]ANI • On 11 June 2019, he was arrested in London for money laundering and encouraging terrorism by making hate speeches which had enticed violence in Pakistan. [8]BBC • In August 2019, while addressing his supporters through social media, he said that Pakistan's civil and military establishments have been misleading and duping the masses of the country over the issue of Kashmir for the past 72 years. [9]India Today
Relationships & More
Marital Status	Divorced
Marriage Date	Year 2001
Family
Wife/Spouse	Faiza Gabol (m. 2001; d. 2007)
Children	Son- None Daughter- Afza Altaf
Parents	Father- Nazir Hussain (Worked in the Indian Railways as a Station Master) Mother- Khursheed Begum (Homemaker)
Siblings	Brother(s)- Nasir Hussain; He has 5 more brothers. Sister(s)- Saira Aslam (Elder); He has 3 more sisters.

Some Lesser Known Facts About Altaf Hussain

• Altaf Hussain is a Pakistani politician. He is a Pakistani and British national, and he operates his party, the MQM, from London.

• Before India’s Partition in 1947, Altaf’s parents used to be residents of Nai ki Mandi, Agra in the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh (now Uttar Pradesh), British India. His parents were reluctant to leave India and migrate to Pakistan, but Altaf’s elder brother forced them to migrate and settle in Karachi, Pakistan.

• After completing his college studies, he worked as a trainee in the Karachi Adventist Hospital and a multinational pharmaceutical company in Karachi, Pakistan.
  

  Altaf Hussain (right) during his younger days

• On 2 October 1979, he was arrested and sentenced for 9 months imprisonment for protesting against the government for the safe return of Pakistanis at “Mazar-e-Quaid” (the resting place of Muhammad Ali Jinnah).

• In 1984, he formed the Mujahir Qaumi Movement (MQM) to protect and fight for the rights of Mujahirs (people who had migrated to Pakistan during the partition).

• In 1986, after the Aligarh Colony Massacre, Altaf’s party protested against it. The protest against the massacre also saw the rise of the MQM in Pakistan among the Urdu-speaking middle-class community of Pakistan.

• On 31 October 1986, he addressed his first rally at Pacco Qillo in Hyderabad, Sindh. Thousands of people attended his rally, and he was appreciated by the people of Hyderabad. However, he was arrested after his speech. On 24 February 1987, the charges against him were dropped, and he was released from the Central Prison of Karachi.
  

  Altaf Hussain addressing the rally at Pacco Qillo

• In 1988, when he was admitted to a hospital, Hameed Gul, the then ISI chief, sent a briefcase full of money through Brigadier Imtiaz to bribe him and make him join the Pakistan military establishment led IJI coalition, but Altaf rejected the offer. Later, Imtiaz and Gul confirmed this story.

• In the 1988 Pakistani General Elections, his party won almost several seats in the national assembly. His party also emerged as the third-largest party of Pakistan after this win, and he was credited with being a leader who brought revolutionary change to Pakistan’s mainstream politics.

• Even though his party was successful in the Pakistani General Elections, he has never contested for any electoral position.

• In December 1991, he migrated to London when the Pakistan Government declared Altaf as a criminal and started arresting criminals. He also said that there was an assassination attempt on him, and he would have been killed had he not escaped.

• However, he was still a man of prominent influence in Pakistan and a person who controlled Karachi remotely. Later, he was granted UK citizenship.

• In 2008, Altaf visited India for a summit, and he met many political leaders of India such as LK Advani. In 2015, he requested asylum in India for the first time.
  

  Altaf Hussain with LK Advani

• On 11 June 2019, Altaf was arrested by the London Police from his home in North London under Section 44 of the Serious Crime Act 2007. He was charged with money laundering and encouraging terrorism by making hate speeches and enticing violence in Pakistan. However, he was granted bail a month later.
  

  Altaf Hussain being arrested

• On 17 November 2019, during a rally through a video conference in Karachi, he appealed to the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi to provide him and his colleagues’ asylum in India. He also said that he wants to visit the graves of his grandparents and offer his prayers to them. ^[10]Indian Express